The Hour Glass expands to New Zealand; buys Auckland's Mansors Jewellers

LUXURY watch retailer The Hour Glass is expanding to New Zealand by acquiring Auckland-based Mansors Jewellers and two prime retail and commercial properties in the city, it said on Thursday.

The group is buying the entire operation of Mansors Jewellers, a family-owned business managed by three generations since it started in 1953. It represents a curated selection of luxury brands including Rolex, Cartier and Chopard and also manages New Zealand's only officially certified Rolex service centre. 

The Hour Glass is investing more than NZ$80 million (S$70.9 million) in the acquisitions to mark its entry into New Zealand via its largest city. The mainboard-listed firm on Jan 22 said it is purchasing the two retail and office properties in Auckland for NZ$60 million. 

The acquisitions are driven by the country's fundamentals such as its highly developed free-market economy, strong governance framework and fast developing luxury market, said the company. It added that it views New Zealand as a greenfield luxury watch market.

Mansors Jewellers' David Mansor said that despite being approached by other interested parties, he was pleased to have finally selected the right buyer for the business.

The business is located at 154 Queen Street, while the two properties are located at 90-92 Queen Street and 112-116 Queen Street.

The first property, Blackett's Building, is a five-storey building with 9,700 square feet (sq ft) of gross lettable area. The second property, which will be bought from Securities House Trustee, has a gross lettable area of 9,000 sq ft.

Both buildings are located in Auckland's luxury retail precinct and are tenanted.

Shares of The Hour Glass closed up S$0.01 or 1.3 per cent to S$0.765 on Wednesday.